Declaration Of Extra Strike

 

“Did you know that I wouldd become a potion master?”

 

I stared at him, my eyes full of suspicion, and Tae Jae-heon’s gaze grew more intense. Drawing closer, he lifted my chin, studying me as if he were savoring every detail. His voice dropped to a low murmur, tinged with something unsettling.

 

“I knew you were different from the others. Even if you were dirty and rough, I was certain that with my touch, you could shine brighter than anything else. So I chose you. And what happened after that?”

 

“…”

 

“Perfect, isn’t it?”

 

My head turned involuntarily toward the glass, where my reflection stared back at me—a helpless, stupid version of myself, held in Tae Jae-heon’s grip.

 

“…Don’t treat me like I’m your property.”

 

“No, Eui-jin. Every part of you, from your little quirks to the potions you can’t live without—they all exist because I allowed them. Because I made it possible for you to have them.”

 

“Don’t make me laugh! Let go of me!”

 

I pushed him with all the strength I could muster, but Tae Jae-heon didn’t budge an inch. He just stood there, looking down at me, calm and steady.

 

“Everything you have stems from me. It’s time you acknowledged that, don’t you think?”

 

“Don’t make me laugh. Who needs that? Damn it, just because you pulled me out of the orphanage doesn’t mean—”

 

“What was that?”

 

The moment I mentioned the

orphanage

, the relaxed expression on Tae Jae-heon’s face hardened. His brow furrowed.

 

Damn it. I slipped up. I bit my lip, regretting the words instantly. Tae Jae-heon narrowed his eyes, his voice low and deliberate.

 

“So that’s what this is about… Tsk. You must’ve heard something.”

 

“No, I didn’t—”

 

“It’s not surprising. I heard the civilian you were trying to save was from the orphanage too.”

 

“It’s not… it wasn’t Chang-sik who told me! I found out myself!”

 

I was desperate to stop him from potentially harming Han Chang-sik. Fortunately, Tae Jae-heon just stared at me for a moment before turning away. He tilted his head slightly, signaling me to follow. As I trailed behind, his voice reached me, cold and deliberate.

 

“Don’t push your luck. I’ll let it slide this time since the goal for today was simply to tidy things up. But tomorrow, when we leave—”

 

“Leave? Leave where?”

 

“Where do you think? We’ll be leaving in the morning, so don’t oversleep.”

 

I froze in my tracks.

 

He meant going abroad. That bastard had mentioned passports and foreign trips before, but I didn’t think it would be tomorrow! Tomorrow was the day Zero was supposed to arrive, and of all times…

 

I couldn’t go. I absolutely couldn’t leave. Somehow, I needed to buy time until tomorrow—at least until noon.

 

Delaying the flight wouldn’t be enough. It wasn’t just about stalling for time. If Tae Jae-heon stayed by my side, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. He wouldn’t allow it.

 

I had to think of something. Something to break free.

 

In that moment, a remark made by one of the guards flashed in my mind.

 

– “Is it the family home? The Cheon Rang group took over there. Crazy bastards…”

 

‘If that’s the case… if it’s Cheon Rang…’

 

I had to find a way to send Tae Jae-heon to my house. I froze in place, my anxious heart biting down hard on my lower lip. Tae Jae-heon, noticing I wasn’t following, clicked his tongue and came closer. As he pried my lip from my teeth, he pressed his thumb firmly on my reddened lip and then let go.

 

“Fix that.”

 

When I grabbed his wrist to pull it away, his eyebrows twitched. Before he could strike, I quickly opened my mouth.

 

“I can’t go tomorrow.”

 

“If you’re rebelling again about not going…”

 

“No, we have to go to my family home. To my house.”

 

“What?”

 

Tae Jae-heon asked in surprise. Fearing he’d catch me in a lie, I steeled myself and spoke in a calm voice, trying to sound nonchalant.

 

“Do you think I’m stupid? If we go this time, who knows when we’ll return. How can we just go in this state? My laboratory and all my things are still at home. You didn’t throw them away, right?”

 

“…I didn’t throw them away.”

 

“That’s why. I can’t go like this. Even if we leave the country, I want to stop by the house and take my things with me.”

 

Tae Jae-heon’s eyes narrowed slightly as he observed my sudden change in attitude, but the stern look melted away. A slight smirk played on his lips, though he shook his head firmly.

 

“It’s impossible to go right now. I’ll send someone to have everything delivered immediately.”

 

“No one else can touch my things.”

 

“Kang Eui-jin.”

 

“What? Hyung was the one who taught me that. Not to let anyone mess with my stuff without permission.”

 

I threw out a term I hadn’t used in ages, a gamble born out of desperation. I needed to persuade him somehow, but why “hyung” of all things? The moment the word slipped out, Tae Jae-heon’s face froze. Panicked, I dropped my gaze.

 

‘Damn it. I screwed up. He’s going to hit me, isn’t he?’

 

But the strike never came. As the seconds passed, I hesitantly lifted my head. To my surprise, Tae Jae-heon’s expression wasn’t one of anger. In fact, it looked… different.

 

Before I could fully grasp his reaction, his grip on my wrist tightened, as if he had come to some conclusion.

 

“You know I can’t live without my potions….Please…”

 

Tae Jae-heon gazed at me for a long moment, then finally gave a small nod.

 

***

 

Tae Jae-heon was nowhere to be seen in the morning. I didn’t need to ask where he went. It was obvious—he must have gone to the house.

 

I climbed up to the 70th floor sky garden and lay down on a bench, staring at the sky.

 

‘If I fail today, I’m as good as dead.’

 

If that bastard Tae Jae-heon caught me and dragged me overseas, there’d be no escaping him again. A foreign country, where I couldn’t even speak the language, felt like a prison waiting to happen. It was my last chance.

 

But there was an even bigger problem looming over me—that damned pillar.

 

The timer on it showed 30 minutes remaining. No one had figured out what the numbers meant. For all we knew, the sky could come crashing down before the flight even took off.

 

Stretching casually, I glanced toward Do-young, who stood by the door. He was leaning against the door and dozing off. Ever since the encounter with Zero, things had been quiet, and it seemed even he had let his guard down.

 

‘Please, let’s keep it peaceful until the end.’

 

With Zero’s promised time drawing near, I jumped up from the bench.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

“Heading back early today?”

 

Do-young, startled awake, looked delighted at my words. If he handed me off to the guards back at my room, he’d finally be free for the night—no wonder his face lit up.

 

I stepped into the elevator, contemplating how to get him to head to the 20th-floor lounge naturally. If push came to shove, I was prepared to knock him out, the potion vial already rolling in my palm as I stared at the back of his head.

 

But my worries were short-lived.

 

The moment the elevator doors closed, a massive explosion echoed outside. Startled, both Do-young and I spun around. Through the transparent glass walls, the outside was in plain view.

 

Black smoke was spreading from the upper section, near where the pillar touched the sky.

 

“What—what the hell is that?!” Do-young shouted, his voice panicked.

 

“…It’s the pillar.”

 

“The… the pillar? What do you mean………”

 

“It’s probably because the time’s up.”

 

Based on all the bizarre phenomena so far—meteor showers, simultaneous dungeon breaks by the hundreds and thousands—it was clear that something catastrophic would happen once the pillar’s timer hit zero.

 

But there was no time to stand around in shock. While Do-young, who looked as pale as a ghost, clung to the wall and anxiously scanned the scene outside, I seized my chance. I slipped the card poking out of his back pocket and canceled the 60th-floor destination, pressing the button for the 20th floor instead.

 

Tossing the card onto the floor, I feigned nonchalance. Moments later, the elevator chimed, signaling its arrival.

 

“Goddamn it, you think something really is going to happen? Sh—let’s just get off for now.”

 

Finally snapping out of his daze, Do-young turned to leave but paused when he spotted his card lying on the ground. As he bent down to pick it up, I darted out of the elevator before he could grab hold of me.

 

“Huh? How did this even fall…? Wait—this isn’t the 60th floor! Eui-jin nim!”

 

The 20th floor lounge was nothing like I imagined. I hadn’t given much thought to what it would look like, but I certainly didn’t expect it to be this crowded.

 

‘Is this the place Zero mentioned…..? It seems like a lounge

.’

 

The floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view, and the lounge was filled with sofas, armchairs, and tables for people to sit and relax. I expected some chaos following what had just happened, but most of the crowd was instead focused on a large screen in the center of the room, watching a news broadcast.

 

“Why did you rush out ahead of me?!”

 

I was scanning the area for Zero when Do-young finally caught up, grabbing my shoulder. He, too, seemed puzzled by the unexpectedly calm atmosphere, looking around at the people absorbed in their phones or the broadcast.

 

“Do they not know about the pillar yet? Why is everyone just glued to the TV?”

 

“Hold on, let’s watch for a second. The pillar’s on the news.”

 

The screen, marked with a bold

LIVE

icon, was streaming breaking news. The camera focused on a massive pyramid, atop which the ominous black pillar pierced the sky. The murmur of voices around the lounge drifted into my ears.

 

“Whoa, something huge is definitely about to go down, isn’t it?”

 

“They say the Italian team that entered the tower first got completely wiped out.”

 

I was about to ask the chattering bystanders for more details when a woman stepped up to a podium in the broadcast, gripping the microphone. She began speaking in a language I couldn’t understand, but subtitles quickly scrolled across the bottom of the screen.

 「“That tower is a disaster itself. As soon as the promised time ends, the day of the apocalypse will descend with irreversible chaos. I have failed my mission to guard the stars due to their interference. If you are still safe, flee from that place immediately. Their goal is destruction itself. There is no safe haven, for they are everywhere. Trust no one. Your survival is the last hope to rise again amidst despair. To those entrusted with the same mission as mine, wherever you may be, I hope my words reach you. This has been Regulus.”」 

The cryptic subtitles left the lounge buzzing with confusion, but I was the only one whose eyes widened at the familiar name at the end.

 

“What? Regulus?”

 

Stars, guardians, or whatever—was this actually referring to the

Constellations

? I had skimmed something about them before, but Regulus? That name rang a bell.

 

‘Hamal, Aldebaran, Castor, Acubens… Regulus!’

 

Right—it was part of

Leo

!

 

As I mentally ticked off the names on my fingers and connected the dots, realizing that Regulus was the Alpha star of Leo, a piercing scream ripped through the lounge. My head shot up just in time to see chaos erupt on the screen.

 

Masked figures had appeared out of nowhere, storming the stage where Regulus had just stood. Explosions of skills and abilities tore through the air, the camera capturing the escalating mayhem. The screen shook violently as the attackers’ powers left the area in shambles.

 

Before anyone could fully process what was happening, one of the stray skills slammed into the camera itself. The screen went black.

 

“No!!”

 

The shout escaped me before I could stop it, echoing in the now-silent lounge.

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